Michael Morris
First Post
This thread is for discussion of the second article of the Character Points series.
Character Points II: Personality and Background
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
I think the audience needs to be better defined. If it's anyone other than mostly beginners, I would put the stats analysis and other basic stuff on the back burner and focus instead on things that even more experienced gamers don't do very often: defining their family (and not killing them off!), which I agree can add a lot to a character.
To this day, I think the best thing I did for my campaign was requiring that all the initial player characters have detailed links to the starting community. If anything, I'd have done more of if than I ended up doing. Family member NPCs have been resources, adventure hooks, hostages and more, and they've fleshed out all the characters nicely.
People reading my Story Hour should keep an eye out when I get to "Night's Dark Terrors," when Hazel Sawyer's relationship with her dad, including why he doesn't want her to be an adventurer, why he doesn't get along with the gnome bard Heda Littlelark and Hazel's relationship with her little sister, all get center stage. The same adventure features Emus interacting with the other dwarves, including a rival from another clan, and Bufer running through a maze of twisty passages, all alike, trying to discover who the assassin is in a gnomish enclave where very little is as it seems. And all of it flows from the players coming up with a rich cast of friends and relations.
To this day, I think the best thing I did for my campaign was requiring that all the initial player characters have detailed links to the starting community. If anything, I'd have done more of if than I ended up doing. Family member NPCs have been resources, adventure hooks, hostages and more, and they've fleshed out all the characters nicely.
People reading my Story Hour should keep an eye out when I get to "Night's Dark Terrors," when Hazel Sawyer's relationship with her dad, including why he doesn't want her to be an adventurer, why he doesn't get along with the gnome bard Heda Littlelark and Hazel's relationship with her little sister, all get center stage. The same adventure features Emus interacting with the other dwarves, including a rival from another clan, and Bufer running through a maze of twisty passages, all alike, trying to discover who the assassin is in a gnomish enclave where very little is as it seems. And all of it flows from the players coming up with a rich cast of friends and relations.
jmucchiello
Hero
Problem is too many DMs think it's cool to use Family NPCs as hostages and more. In poor hands, such a plot hook merely feels like the coal car of a railroad plot. An even better article would describe how to convince your players not to be orphans while at the same time not making them regret having family members.
Regarding faith: I'd add some line regarding the existence of gods. D&D's faith differs from our own faith in that faith doesn't require believing in a god - gods exist beyond doubt in D&D. That's a very big difference to RL faith.
In my D&D campaigns (Contrary to my modern campaigns), an atheist is a madman. Where the existence of gods is a fact, proven countless times, everyone sane believes in gods.
Some may not follow the gods' dogma or teachings, but that's another thing. And depending on how many gods there are, they might still be following some god's ideal, unknowingly even.
In my D&D campaigns (Contrary to my modern campaigns), an atheist is a madman. Where the existence of gods is a fact, proven countless times, everyone sane believes in gods.
Some may not follow the gods' dogma or teachings, but that's another thing. And depending on how many gods there are, they might still be following some god's ideal, unknowingly even.
When creating a personality for a PC, especially when all I have in front of me are the basic stats, I tend to start with just a single hook. It could something like 'brave', 'self-centred', 'naive', or 'looks out for others'. For a high str, low int barbarian, the obvious choice might be 'acts without thinking'. But how about 'bit of a coward' instead. Hmm, that sort of thing can lead to all sorts of possibilities for character development during the game.
Obviously the more detail you have the better, but for a new character, starting with a single defining trait like this can make the PC's journey a lot of fun for the player as they discover how their character reacts to (and is influenced by) the world around them.
Obviously the more detail you have the better, but for a new character, starting with a single defining trait like this can make the PC's journey a lot of fun for the player as they discover how their character reacts to (and is influenced by) the world around them.
Aus_Snow
First Post
I get the feeling I should know the first one, but the second is definitely by John William Waterhouse (it's called 'The Magic Circle'). And so is the third*. Some of his other stuff is nice too, IMO.Just a small question: where did you get the pictures from .. they are awesome!
* 'The Crystal Ball' (had to look that one up.)
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Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
All NPCs are eventually hostage-bait, because it's a lot more fun than PCs being hostages.
And yes, when your character cares about other people, eventually some enemy will use this against them. No, it's not new and novel, but neither is "I'm a mysterious orphan" or "hey, is that a hole in the ground full of miserly humanoids? Let's go rob them!"
Mustrum_Ridcully
Hero
You _can't_ escape your DM.
And I think that's why it's probably better to include some hooks that you find interesting yourself. That way, the plot the DM throws at you has a chance to be something you wanted to explore in the first place. All this is useless, of course, if you're running adventure path, like group mostly does.
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